To Restore Balance
by snowleopard314
Summary: A simple mistake in the floo network changes everything. Now that Harry is armed with the Olde Ways, he will change his own fate before leaving to find a new one. In a different country he is about to get a new adventure that will give him friends that he needs and perhaps a bit of love as well.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello Lovelies, this be my new idea for a fic, and I hope that you all like it!**

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 **Chapter One: The Olde Ways**

I looked down at the thick book in front of me wearily and wondered just what I had been thinking when I bought it. It had been an accident with the floo. It was my first time with it, after all. I just said the words wrong and ended up in a shop I had no business being in. And then I as caught after hiding and I had to make up something quick.

Instead of being a good Gryffindor like I should have been, I went into my Slytherin tendencies and bought a book that looked interesting and just happened to be where I was looking. And then the shop owner questioned me about it, I channeled my inner Malfoy and turned up my nose before telling him that if I wanted to be questioned about my choice in reading I wouldn't have been shopping there. The worst part was that he didn't question me after that and gave me the book.

I had forgotten about it after Hagrid had gotten me out of the ally, but it seemed as if the world had a different plan for it. My twelve year old self looked from the book to the owl that had dumped it in my lap and back to the book. It was clear that Hedwig wanted me to read the book, and I know that she has never led me wrong before. So just I was going to trust in her and read the damn book. I did own it, after all.

I examined the book closely after that, and I really, really looked at it. The cover was made of hard yet thin leather that had been tanned black while under a clear lacquer the words were made out of what looked like powdered ivory, maybe bone. It was thick, not as thick as the book that Hermione had brought out first year when she mentioned a bit of light reading, but thicker than my other school books. There was a feel to it that I was trying to get used to. It didn't seem evil, but I thought that it had power to it.

I opened the book to the first page and saw that I still could not read it. Looking up and seeing Hedwig's glare, I kept my exasperation to myself and without understanding it I traced my finger over the unknown words. There was an uncomfortable feeling within my mind that happened after that, and I didn't know what to think of it. Then, as if compelled, I closed the book and focused on the title. Like magic I was able to read the ivory writing. "Guide to the Olde Ways" was the title of the book.

I would have read more, but Ron decided that it was time for me to join the others, so I hid the book in my trunk and joined the rest of the Weasely's.

I wasn't able to read the book until after I got back to Hogwarts. I just couldn't sleep, and I took the book out. Somehow, it was morning and the book was already read through. I was never good at reading that fast, and I was never that interested usually, but what I was reading not only made sense, but I felt as if I had to learn it.

Furthermore, I knew that I could not tell anyone from the wizarding world about the book that I was reading. I knew that they would take it the wrong way and that they wouldn't understand. Especially since after reading it, I was going to follow it, and what it told were the ways of how the world worked and the balance that must be maintained by the spirits.

The first thing I wanted to do was to create my own focus, an ever changing thing that would help me to focus my magic without a wand. It was customary to make one for yourself for your fifteenth birthday according to the guide that I had been reading, but I knew that I would have to research it and whatnot so that I could actually do it.

But what I needed to do more than that was to connect with the spirit world and befriend a number of them that would help to assist me when I called. They would not work for me; it was simply a ritual to ask them to help me. If I ever called them in a capacity that they didn't like, they could say no. In fact, they would say no if I asked them something that they didn't approve of. It was more like I was working for them if one really looked into the working relationship.

It was Halloween, or the day that the veil was the thinnest that I did this step. I found a room that would come and go when I needed it on the seventh floor, and I asked it or a room to do that in. The results were strange. As I sat there in the center of a circle of runes and some symbols that connected me with the Olde Ways, I connected to seven spirits. The surprising part was that they were all very, very old and powerful. They were all older than the ones that lived in the castle, and rumor had it that the Gray Lady and the Bloody Baron were both over a thousand years old.

But the leader of the seven that I contacted was even stranger than the others. She was clearly powerful, but she spoke to me as if I was her son or something of that nature before she seemed to go mad and say something entirely different. But she would work with me, and that was what truly mattered. I did not know their names; they never gave that to me. In the Olde Ways, to give someone your full name is to give them power over you. Especially in the afterlife.

They did give me very good advice though. The seven also helped with my understanding of just what I was doing and what was expected of me. It was in that moment in time that I was at the point of no return. I had contacted the spirits, and if I were to deviate from my learning of the Olde Ways, the consequences could be anything from nothing happening to my magic being taken in forfeit. But, I really didn't mind that. I was set on learning these ways and following them. If anything I felt deep within me that it was the right thing to do.

That year ended, and I ended up saving Ginny from the basilisk as well as killing a fragment of a soul that not only should have been dead, but that upset the balance of life and death. The Olde Ways were all about the balance. Without it, the world would go into disarray. It was my job to not only help those spirits that were trapped on earth, but also to make sure that the balance between life and death stayed. When it did not, it was my job to ensure that the tipped scales righted themselves.

The next year I planned to take Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. I would have taken the one on numbers, but I was not interested enough to take it as a class. So instead I intend to read about them in the library.

It was during the summer that things got even more interesting. In a bout of powerful accidental magic, and when the lead spirit decided to play with my relatives a bit, I ended up with an inflated Aunt floating away. I could hear the spirit laughing all the while I packed and left on the Night Buss and she only stopped when I got to the Leaky Caldron.

While staying there, I visited the places I shouldn't again, and I did get a few more books on the Olde Ways and runes as well as a few stones and other things that I could not only use for a focus, but also in the more ritualistic ways of Olde. That included a pack of runes as well. What was even more surprising was that the stones that I elected for the ritual type casting that I knew I would have to do at some point came in a set of seven, and all were a different color and type of stone with a different meaning.

The others that I got I did for the focus that I would be forming in two more years. I planned on making it a bracelet or cuff of leather with stones and runes there to help me. It would be stylized but inconspicuous. Or so I hoped.

The stop at Gringotts was also interesting. I got to go into my family vault as long as it was only for artifacts and not gold that I took out. I got a few more books from there before I was ready to leave. It was an interesting experience to be sure. Also, the goblins seemed to know that I was practicing the Olde Ways somehow. But I didn't ask. If anything they seemed to approve my choice.

That school year at Hogwarts was almost normal. If you don't count the mad man who happened to be my godfather coming in and trying to get to me or something. I was told by the spirits that helped me that he was not the one who betrayed my parents, but also that no one else would listen. Also, I was attacked by dementors a few times, but after learning the patronus charm, I was able to keep them away.

In the end, he was forced on the run again and I had to finish out school knowing that it was back to the Dursely's for me.

I was lucky that my stay was not too long and that I was able to go to the Weasely's not long after the summer started. The world cup was kind of awesome. It was nice to be with friends as well. It was too bad that the old death eater crowd had to go and ruin it.

That school year had promised to be grand. I had been studying everything that caught my interest. With the help of my books was the top student at runes so far, and my two friends were right there supporting me the entire time, even if Hermione was a little jealous and Ron didn't understand why I wanted to do good in that subject, they were there will me as friends. To top it off, there was going to be a tournament that had nothing to do with me! It was amazing!

Those were the thoughts running through my mind as the year started. It was only a year before I needed to make my new focus, and I was already grabbing more materials. I took a trip to the chamber and found the basilisk right where I left the poor thing, and I got what called to me; a vial of venom and a scale from the eyelid. Surprisingly the eyelids were fine, but the eyes were completely gone. It was interesting to say the least.

Then, when I was putting it away, Fawkes came to me and offered a tail feather and a vial of tears. I was awed by the phoenix, and I knew that he had not told Dumbledore that he was coming. That made me even happier. Hedwig also offered a feather from her wing; I was even more honored by that seeing as she had been my constant friend since I had known her. There were only a few more things that I needed, and I knew where I would find them too.

Then the worst thing that could happen happened. I was forced into the tournament that I was sure that I was going to get out of going. Even worse was the fact that everyone turned their back on me. I know that loyalty was a defining trait of Hufflepuff, but I thought that they could at least try to be loyal being my friends.

Surprisingly enough, that entire thing had me getting closer to Neville and Luna of all people; a third year oddball Ravenclaw and the so called cowardly lion of Gryffindor. Not that thought of them as that. In fact, I ended up really close to them. They helped me come up with a plan of attack for the dragon, and then stayed by me even though everyone else was trying to get back in my good books.

I found Luna fascinating once I started to translate just what her creatures meant, she was a wealth of information, and spoke the truth no matter how callus. Also, the spirits told me that she had a touch of the sight. I found it almost funny that although she kept her wand behind her ear and the Claw's thought that she was crazy, they had been smart enough to know that Luna knew things, and when they understood her they did listen. Even if they only listened in between bullying her.

I ended up taking Luna to the Yule Ball as a friend while Neville ended up with a Puff that actually became two during the dance. A Susan Bones went with him, but Hanna Abbot joined the two, and the two girls seemed intent on sharing him. Luna and I shared a laugh about that. She didn't mind that I was a terrible date either, so it was fun. I felt bad for Hermione when Ron decided to be jealous and yell at her for going out with Krum. Personally I thought that he was good for her.

The second task sucked. For one thing I had to last an hour in the lake in order to go and find Luna. This was when my friendship with Neville kicked in and showed us all just how important herbology was. He found out about gillyweed and I was able to pass. Though I did take the hint too seriously and tried to save them all, ending it with two hostages saved by me. A very thankful part vela was glad to thank me for it, though it was rather strange to be kissed on the cheek while my face was being squeezed by her. But whatever.

The final task was when everything went wrong. Cedric ended up dead and Voldemort was back. I tried, I really did, to get back before that happened, but nothing had worked. And then I was almost killed by death eaters again. If it wasn't for my mum and dad along with the other three that he had killed, I wouldn't have made it. The spirits that help me did something too, but I was not sure what.

The night before the train ride back, I was called, if you would call it that, towards the Forbidden Forest, and once there I was approached by a unicorn of all things. She came right up to me and looked me in the eye for a moment before turning her head and plucking two strands of silver hair from her mane and giving them to me. With no words to describe just how much it affected me, I bowed to her, and she reared before leaving. I felt truly blessed that she would do that.

That summer I struggled with nightmares and finding out that everything I knew was wrong or warped in some way. All I wanted was to curl up and cry, but there was no way I could do that with my relatives. Dudley was especially cruel once he caught wind of my nightmares. But it only got worse when I faced dementors and was forced to do a patronus.

And then I was given a letter telling me that I was expelled from Hogwarts and everything seemed to just go downhill. I was so angry that they would do that, and I was depressed that I would be taken away from the castle. But at the same time I was almost to my wits end with the wizarding world in general. They were with me one moment and gone the next. I didn't need to go to Hogwarts any more. I could finish my duty to the wizarding world and leave if I really wanted. I just needed to know how to finish Voldemort before the world drove me to insanity.

I was taken to my godfather's house not long after that. Once there I chewed a few people out before locking myself in the library of all places. But at least that gave me three books on the Olde Ways that the order had overlooked. I put them in my trunk.

After a ton of explanations and a few other things that I was told by Sirius and some of the other Order members, I almost laughed when Mrs. Weasley forced us all to start to clean the next day. I wanted to get everything over and done with, and I wasn't sure how to do that.

My answer came soon after. I was just cleaning when we found it. It was a gaudy locket with a large green S on it. And no one could open it. But when I held it I felt something. It was bad and I knew that I had to do something about it. So I pocketed it and moved on without anyone noticing. It was later that night that I found out what the hell it was. Inside of the locket was a piece of Voldemort's soul, and now I was able to get rid of him forever!

That night I went into the basement of the house and found the ritual space. The first thing that I did was create my new focus so that I could use magic without the Ministry going crazy.

I set the materials out and started in on the mokeskin that I had gotten from the ally. It was a tanned piece of lizard skin that was a dark brown in color instead of the silvery green that the moke was normally. It was about two inches wide and I had cut it just long enough for my wrist. Of course once it was on it was not going to come off. I knew that already.

I then moved all of my materials to the center of the room and moved it into a pentagram that was on the floor. In the space for Earth I placed the seven stones that I had gotten, they were Hematite, Benitoite, Garnet, Obsidian, Emerald, Opal, and Azurite. In the place for Fire I placed the phoenix tears and the tail feather that Fawkes gave me. For Air I had the feather that Hedwig had given me from her wing. Water was the basilisk venom and the scale that I had taken from her eyelid. And finally, for Spirit, I placed the hairs that the unicorn had given me from her mane. The center of the star held the mokeskin piece.

To start I carved a seven pointed star, the elven star or a heptagram depending on who you are talking to, into the center of the leather. From there I placed each stone to one of the points. Then I curved the feathers so that they were on either side of the star but almost looked as if they would move to encircle it together. I swirled the hairs from the unicorn onto the leather to create patterns, and finally I placed the scale from the basilisk on the two edges.

I then carved the rune Sowelu into the center of the star before pouring the venom and tears onto the piece and placing my hand right above the focus that I had created. It smoked and sizzled for a moment, but then there was a flash of light and it curled around my wrist where it was going to stay.

I was finally done, and I looked to my wrist to see how it happened. At the center of the top of my wrist, the heptagram sat with the stones clearly embedded in the leather, and then the two feathers had dissolved into the mokeskin and it looked as if I carved in one silver and blue feather, and a slightly larger red and gold one. There was a silver and white pattern along the two edges that had been made from the unicorn hair, and finally where the two edges meet there was a clasp that was made from the scale of the basilisk that was gleaming green and black and would let no one but myself unclasp the focus due to the properties that was given to it by the mokeskin. Also, because it was from the eyelid of the snake that could kill with a look, no one that wished me ill could see it. But, by far the best part was that it had accepted me.

I loved it, and right away I knew that my wand would never work for me again.

"It is time to deal with the split soul." The woman spirit told me as I looked at the bracelet in awe.

"Right," I answered before I stood and prepared the next ritual that I would have to perform. This would be, in a sense, my graduation from learning and into being fully recognized a practitioner of the Olde Ways.

I created another elven star, only this one was far larger, and I placed a stone at each point. These were the seven that I found went well with the seven spirits that I had. In front of me I placed the Lapis Lazuli that symbolized the leader of the spirits that I asked for help, and from there I moved counter clockwise as I placed the rest of the stones, Amethyst, Jasper, Carnelian, Amber, Malachite, and Blue Lace Agate. Then I drew the two circles, each one was inside the star, one an inch from the tips and the other about six inches from that. I even marked the four points of the compass on them as well. I stood in the center facing the locket that I had placed on the floor in a circle enforced with runes in front of me.

This was almost like necromancy in a way, but at the same time it was not the dark practice that people thought of necromancy as. This was the version that invoked the Olde Ways to act from the spirit world. It was a way to balance the psychical plane by using the spiritual.

Then, in the Olde Way's language I called out to the spirits. "I call you spirits here as witness and I call you here to judge, but most importantly I call you here to restore the balance. Before you lies a piece of the soul of a man that should have been dead many times over. He split his soul to stay in the mortal plane and now has disrupted the balance. I ask that you judge the soul and then take it with you to the spirit realm so that it might be put back into the cycle that it has forced itself to avoid." Then, in the rights of the Olde Ways I took out a ceremonial dagger that took forever to find and I sliced the pad of my pointer finger before allowing seven drops to fall to the ground in sacrifice to each of the spirits present. I even spoke a few more lines that were required of me.

"Hmm, he seems to be tainted and scarred. We will take this soul." One of the male spirits said as seven flame looking masses had appeared above each stone in the corresponding color. The one that spoke happened to be red with a few grey flecks.

"Yes, but you should know that it will be painful for you seeing as a sliver made it into your scar." The yellow flame spoke in the voice of the woman.

"To restore the balance and save the lives of those who would otherwise be forced to fight, I will take my chances with the pain." I answered sincerely after I swallowed the frog that had made its way into my throat and ignored the flying butterflies in my stomach.

A cackling laugh came from the blue flame that was speckled with gold that was situated at the point as she said "Well let us get this started and over with! What fun it will be!" The spirits seamed to bob once before they shot off.

I didn't actually see where they went as I yelled out from the pain from my scar a moment before the locket before me screamed as well. Then it stopped and the seven flames were once again around me. Only there was also a ring that was floating in front of me.

"Young one, you have restored the balance and graced us by using the Olde Ways once again. In return we present to you a stone with which one may summon the dead to speak with them on the psychical plane. Be wary when using it, for the dead are not meant to linger where they do not belong." The purple flame spoke.

I nodded my head before I reached out and curled my fingers around the ring. "Thank you; I am honored that you would give this to me."

"Silly little raven; we obviously just trust you with this more than the one that is looking for it." The blue and gold flame said with a laugh. "But I look forward to working with you again. Let us see what kind of soul you bring us next time. It should be fun!"

I nodded my head and they left after that, leaving me bone tired, and my lines were all erased. I collected the stones and the now useless locket, and I went back up stairs and to bed. My wand was still sitting snugly in my trunk, and I knew that I would never be using it again.

The next morning I went in with Mr. Weasley to find that they had changed the time of my trial and everything. Someone didn't want me to go back to school, and although we would make it in time, I was almost sad to say that I was right along with them. I was not going back there. I had been learning the Olde Ways and I had been raised a muggle, as such I had done my duty and I was going to go back and become a mundane human. Or at least as mundane of one as the fates would allow.

A lot that the Olde Ways taught was when not to use magic. It was far more rewarding to use your own two hands to build something, and in the end it would be made with character and personality. Charms and transfiguration might be good, but the only thing that I would be using the last one for would be my animagus form that I had perfected last year or in the case of an emergency. Though I had a feeling the subtle healing magic that I learned from the book would be used a lot. It wasn't like the healing that they did in the wizarding world, but it would focus the healing energy of that person and cut down on the time it took to heal.

I walked into the room and sat on the imposing chair in the middle of the room while I was surrounded by a ton of important looking people, and I forced myself not to laugh. When they started it, I didn't even wait for them to speak before I stood and started my speech.

"You know, it is really sad that you are forcing me to stand a full trial to talk about underage magic that I did in order to protect myself and my cousin from two dementors that came close to my home and tried to kiss the both of us. What is even funnier is that I had a bout of accidental magic the year before and no one cared, or that the first one in the summer before my second year was caused by a house elf and not me, but apparently any magic done at the place I live must have been caused by me because there is no way that any other magic thing can come into my house. But, I find that it is alright. You see, I want nothing to do with Wizarding Brittan anymore. Expel me, snap my wand, I don't care. I won't be needed it anyway." I said as I took the holly and phoenix feather wand from my pocket and placed it on the railing in front of me. I then bowed to the people and left the room, not caring to listen to the mutters that followed me out.

I was passing a gob smacked Dumbledore on my way out when he stopped me and asked "But my dear boy, what about Voldemort? And the rest of your school and your friends? Will you leave us all?"

"Voldemort has been taken care of; he won't be troubling this world anymore. I will not be needing anymore schooling in the magical world, and as for my friends, if they want me to be happy, then they won't mind if I stay in touch from the muggle world. I've done my duty, now I am going to have a normal life." I told him point blank and loud enough for the rest of the room to hear me.

I then passed him and the stunned Mrs. Figg so that I could make my way back to the house. On the way I was thinking about where I wanted to go after I got myself emancipated. Somewhere out of the way but nice, that was all I knew for sure.

I was still walking when Hedwig landed on my shoulder and held her leg out. A small letter was attached that was addressed to me. I opened it and read:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Congratulations on defeating the Dark Lord and saving us all. I think that Japan would be a nice place to look for the elusive Crumple Horned Snorkack. I plan on getting daddy to let me go out there during the Christmas Holidays this year._

 _With love,_

 _Luna_

I smiled once I was done reading. She always knew best. I knew it, Neville knew it, and to the point she also knew it. To Japan it was! I couldn't help but wonder what adventures were waiting for me there.

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 **A/N: And that be it. I would love it if you would tell me what you think. I liked it, but then again I got satisfaction from the very anticlimactic death of the dark lord. Please fav, follow, and like. That would make me happy and post faster, I hope...**


	2. Evil Spirits All Over

**A/N: This is my second chapter, and I am jumping right in! I hope that you like it. Also, thank you to all that have faved, followed, and reviewed. It really meant a lot to me. Please enjoy this chapter.**

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Evil Spirits All Over

April

As it turns out, Luna's suggestion was a hit! I was absolutely loving my time in Japan as a student and being completely and utterly normal. Granted that I was still connecting with the spirits every once in a while, but I had not used the stone and I don't think that I would either. Too much temptation.

I ended up being liked in the school for myself, but I got particularly close to Kuroda. She was a little older than me, but that didn't matter. She reminded me of a mix between Hermione and Luna with Ron's jealousy mixed in. I felt as if she just needed someone to rely on for a change, an ear to whisper in when it was needed. Soon enough that was what I became to her. She kind of took me on as a little brother.

So one day after school when I saw her chewing out some of my classmates about telling ghost stories I couldn't help the sigh that came out as I went forward to save her from the guy who had just walked in.

"Hey, Kuroda, I think it's time to go. If they don't want to listen you can't make them. You see what you see, and they will see what they see. Everyone is different." I said as gently as possible as I walked over to her. It was meant to sound nice, but I knew that I had just made her upset. I also said it in a way that it wouldn't offend anyone who didn't want to believe in such things. The worst part was that I knew that she wasn't psychic, but I knew that she was something.

When Kuroda got angry I did notice that things happened. One day when we were walking around in the park, a particularly mean person had said something and it had set her off. I noticed that one of the sticks from the ground was thrown at the boy. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew she was not a magical child, I would have thought she was a witch, but she did contain some form of power. It was some power that came from the brain. I know that if I mentioned this to Hermione she would have been searching for it for months and would eventually find the right answer. But I was not going to risk a friend to tell one of my other friends about it.

"Why can't they just listen to me? They are making everything worse! It's like they are calling to them or something!" She cried as I lead her out of the school and towards her house. I patted her on the back as I didn't say anything. There really was nothing I could say at this point while still being honest with the girl I had come to see as an older sister.

The leader of the spirits I knew was ranting and raving beside me about how it didn't work that way and that she needed to get used to it, but I did see the difference. The more that she got nervous about the possibility of ghosts being there, the more that her mental powers acted up and things happened around her. It was a call for attention, but I also knew that she wanted someone to believe her and get rid of the problem.

Dropping her off I walked back over to my house. It just happened to be past the old school house as well. I paused just outside of it and looked in. Looking at the spirit that was still around for some reason (really, she sits there and complains the entire time and is the only one of the seven to stay with me constantly, and she won't say why she follows me around either, but I knew that she won't be sent back in an exorcism because she is tied to me in a way that I don't understand but the seven spirits do) I gave her a questioning look.

"No, there are none in there now or ever. It is just a building that needs to be torn down." She spoke dismissively. I nodded at her and went home.

I was greeted by Hedwig as I stood there, and she hooted at me happily. I went right to her and stroked her feathers. It had been about a week since she got back from delivering my last set of letters, and I was always happy when she was home with me. Of course not all people understood why I had an owl as a pet, but I could care less about them. Birds and fish were acceptable pets in this apartment complex, and the kids adored her. The adults too.

It was homework and then bed for me. I knew that the next day was probably going to suck. Then again, I also knew that Kuroda was probably going to go and try and show off to the ghost hunters in order to try and get them to help her. Why she couldn't just ask I have no idea.

I fell asleep still thinking about that and slept in because there was no school the next day. I would have gone straight over, but I also knew that I needed to talk to the guy from school when no one was around. I also knew that he was going to be the kind of person that stayed somewhere late.

So for the day I spent it writing to my friends about everything that had been going on in school and about some of the personal things that I did in my free time. The people that I still sent letters to included Sirius, Luna, Neville, Hermione, Remus, and the twins. The other's had gone mental when I told them that I was leaving and going muggle. But I was just glad that I got to keep the friends that I could. They were my initial support group.

They were with me when I needed them. Hermione was absolutely fascinated with how the education system in Japan worked, and the others just wanted to make sure that I was alive and well. I had a feeling that Sirius is planning something, but I am not sure what. Also, Neville had wrangled a promise from me to host him at some point to check out the magical plants that were around, and Luna had given herself an open invitation to my house. She even had me send her a key.

I am still not sure how she managed to make me do that…

It was a relaxing day that I knew that I needed to face what I had to face.

It was after dark when I finally went to the old school house and waited in the shadow of the building that was claimed to be haunted. I had come just in time to watch the other experts leave, and a few minutes later Mai and Kuroda walked out as well.

Steeling myself with a deep breath, I walked into the room and made sure that I was walking the way that a normal teenager would, making noise and what not, so that I wouldn't startle the person that was still within the building. I found him up the stairs and with a measuring tape. I knocked on the frame of the door without coming in so that he would know that I was there but that I would also wait until he was done.

His navy eyes flashed up at me before going back to his measurements for a moment and finishing that before standing and turning towards me. "You were the boy that was with Kuroda the other day. What are you doing here?"

He seemed to study me, and I knew that around here I was very different from others. My green eyes are one thing, but it is also the shape of my face and how pail I am. It is clear that although I speak the language I am a foreign person in this country. I also know that my mannerisms don't quite match up with what others around here do, and that my phrasing can be strange at times.

I gave him a sheepish smile. "Yeah, sorry about that; my name is Harry and I didn't want things to escalate, and now I have come because I have something important that I want to talk to you about." I said to him in a calm manor that I hoped put me in his good book.

"Well, what is it that you wanted to say?" He asked as he crossed his arms. That didn't seem to bode well for me.

"Well, sir, you see I have known Kuroda for a short time and I think that I can clear some things up. Kuroda is not a medium, and I know that she cannot see spirits, but I also know that she is something. I don't know much about psychic research, but I do know spirits; I'm in contact with seven regularly, and never once had she noticed that. Also, when she gets upset she seems to affect things around her. She is here because she is trying to ask for help without actually asking. It had been worse lately because everyone has been talking about it. She wants to be acknowledged, and she wants to be heard, and it came out in this energy that moves things. She thinks that she is haunted and is asking for help." I said in a soft voice.

As I was talking I saw the blue eyes of the teen in front of me go wide before he caught his chin in his hand and started to think on what I had said. It was clear that he was thinking of an angle that he had not thought of before. I just hoped that he could help the girl with whatever it is that is going on.

"You said that you are in contact with spirits regularly, can you elaborate?" The teen asked me after nodding to himself.

I bit my lip slightly and looked over to where the woman was. At her nod I turned back to the ghost hunter and said "I practice the Olde Ways. You may not have heard of them, but I work with the spirit world to maintain the balance. There was what you could probably call a demon back home, and I learned the ways so that I could get rid of him. Now they choose to help me if I ask them to. They like to tell me things, and it had been so long for them that they favor me in a way. None of them are actually anchored to the living world, they just come here every once I a while, or when I call them."

"Did they say anything about this place?" He asked me more questions.

"She told me that it was just an old building that needed to be demolished. Nothing is here or has been here." I answered truthfully. It was slightly bugging me that I still did not know his name. But I would deal with it.

"I see. Would you be willing to come back here tomorrow morning and meet the rest of the people here? I have a feeling that you will find it rather informative. And I would perhaps like to speak to you later about a job opportunity." He spoke after once again pausing to think. He seemed to think a lot.

"I wouldn't mind, if I could get your name."

"Kazuya Shibuya," He replied with a smirk. Clearly my sense of humor was not as bad as some people tend to believe it is. Then again he was fairly serious for a teenager, and we both had that look in their eyes that told that we grew up too quickly; that we know things and have been through things that have aged us.

"Good night Kazuya, My name is Harry Potter and I will see you tomorrow." I answered with a slight smile as I turned and left the old school house.

The next morning I was up and ready for the day. It was rather bright outside, and so I was ready to face the day after a quick look at Hedwig's empty perch. I had almost forgotten that I had sent her off the other night.

I was just walking up as he was talking to the others about ground subsidence and how that was affecting the building. And it was all fascinating and everything, but I was waiting to see what they were going to do about Kuroda. When he was done explaining it was Ayako that asked the question that led to the next part of his explanation.

"But what about all the strange noises?" Was the question she asked.

"It was probably the wood settling, or the other problem that was brought to my attention last night." Kazuya said as he stood up and looked at the building. "Although the structure is failing and the building will collapse any time now, there is also a poltergeist here. However not the one that you are thinking of. Humans are to blame for over half of reported poltergeist activity. It can be found a lot of the time in teen age girls who are seeking some form of attention or are under a lot of stress. The poltergeist is a mental ability that forms and can be forced out of the body and onto the projected area."He explained to the others as he looked at the building.

It was Mai who spoke next "Are you saying that Kuroda is the one who caused all of this?" She asked.

"Yes," I decided that it was my turn to speak as I walked in.

"Harry?" Mai asked as she looked at me as if I had grown a second head. I thought it was slightly funny, but I kept talking anyway.

"I would have gone to you before, but I felt that I needed to speak away from her, and I didn't want her angry at me. No one noticed, but the more that Kuroda gets stressed, the more things tend to happen around her. She was here making grand statements because she was more than likely reaching out for help to try and stop what she perceived as ghosts haunting her when really it was only her subconscious sending out waves." I finished.

"And who are you?" Ayako asked as she looked at me incredibly.

"Harry Potter, I go to the same school as Mai and Kuroda." I said with a smile.

For some reason, Kazuya spoke up after I was done "He also has shown me more evidence that he knows of the spirit world than any of you have." It was a cutting remark, and I found myself blushing slightly in embarrassment at it and that stares that I was suddenly getting.

"As if he can do anything that I can't!" Ayako sniffed as she crossed her arms and looked away.

I tilted my head and listened for a moment before saying "Well, you do have power in your own right, but it is useless here. It isn't the right environment for you to be working in. My talents are simply different than yours are priestess." I then looked at the monk and listened for a moment before nodding my head at him politely.

I almost felt bad when Kuroda got there and looked at me confused as the other people all sat in a circle of sorts. It was like an intervention was happening right before the equipment was going to be packed up by Kazuya and Mai.

I think that it went by rather well if I do say so myself. Though, the others might not have thought that way. I did end up with her almost in my lap as she cried relieved but also distressed tears. I took her home after that and then went back to speak with Kazuya knowing that he still wanted to know if I wanted a job. Instead of conducting the interview there, I rode back with him in the van so that his original assistant could get his thoughts about me as well.

"What did you think of the others that you saw?" Kazuya, or now affectionately known by most as Naru asked. Though, he asked it in English. I was surprised, but didn't say anything as I also adopted my native language.

"Like I said, Ayako can do a great deal while in the right setting. The monk has some impressive powers, but it is not focused enough to keep things away with power. I'd say that he is really good at the quick banishments that cause the spirit to retreat for a while. He also knows his stuff. The Priest is very interesting. His faith is so pure and innocent that I have no doubts that he really is an exorcist. Finally, Mai has something going on, but she doesn't know it yet. I think that she might be in the middle of a medium and whatever Kuroda was. I don't know, but sometimes she isn't all there, as in this plane." I said. It was just what I had been thinking about and the stuff that the woman was muttering into my ear.

He gave a nod and the rest of our drive was held in silence that neither of us seemed to mind.

Once there, I was pleasantly surprised by the casual look to the lobby type area of the office. Then again I knew that I should have expected it seeing as this was somewhat like a consulting firm if you thought about it.

We were seated and the man who was Naru's original assistant came out on a single crutch and sat down across from me on a different couch. I looked at him and found that I was slightly fascinated with him. And it wasn't just me; the spirit that was still hanging around also muttered some things to me that I was surprised at.

Knowing that it didn't matter what I said here I said "It's impressive that you have five shiki. Or at least that is what they tell me. You must be very powerful to impress them like this." Of course I was just talking with the one, but if she was impressed I had no illusions that the others would have been as well.

"Thank you. I have known a few people who practiced the Olde Ways; however, they were all much older and only had one spirit helping them. For you to have seven speaks highly of you. How is it that you got so many?" He asked.

I tilted my head slightly as I got permeation to speak freely to the two of them and any other colleagues that might come along. "It was the place I was in. There was a man who had become a demon. He split his soul seven times to try and stay in the mortal realm. He was trying to kill me. Learning the Olde Ways was an accident almost. But it gave me the power to stop him from killing. He was disrupting the balance more than he should have been, and so seven souls came to me when I started and offered their help."

"You got rid of him," it was a statement of fact and not a question coming from the older man.

"Yes, and it was very unpleasant." I agreed.

The man then looked down to my wrist and asked "May I?" and without bothering to answer verbally I held out my wrist to show him my focus. He examined it without touching it, something I was grateful for. The he said "I must admit that I have never seen a focus quite like that one."

"Well, I made it myself with no outside help. It took forever. And I might have rushed it a bit at the end because I had everything I needed to get rid of him but I needed the focus before that. It was a long night." I laughed sardonically.

After that there were a few more questions before they got on to the job and asking if I was alright to work on certain days if I minded if they added one more person as a secretary type position, what I would do in certain situations, and other things like that. At the very end there was a lull as they asked me if there were any questions I had.

"Well, I would understand if you said no, but I was wondering if you would mind if there was an owl in here every once in a while?" I asked as I squirmed a little.

"An owl?" Kazuya asked with a tilt of his head. I thought I saw amusement in Lin's eyes from across the table. Clearly he knew that there was usually an animal involved with those who practiced the Olde Ways.

"Yeah, Hedwig is kind of like a familiar in terms that most people understand. I have had her since I was eleven, and she usually knows where I am and can find others. Also, animals are sensitive to the paranormal and kids love her." I said as if I was advertising the snowy owl.

"So long as you are still able to concentrate on work and it doesn't make a mess, I don't mind." The boss consented with a bob of his head. And that was how I got a job at SPR as a Jr. Ghost Hunter. Though why I was classified as Jr. I would never know.

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 **A/N: and that is another end to another chapter. Harry is now a part of SPR and I am going on to mold him into the stories with a few minor and major changes that will be coming. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Office Hours

**A/N: it appears that I think I might have forgotten my disclaimer. So here it is, I own absolutely nothing besides my wild and crazy brain.**

 **Anyhow, thank you everyone who is reading and reviewing and following and favoriting. It really does mean a lot to me. And I have always found that reviews make me want to write more on my stories. I'm just glad that I could get this update up so quickly. Please read, enjoy, and tell me what you think about this story.**

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Office Hours

May

It was a month after Mai and I had been hired that we got into a sort of understanding with some of the craziness that was brought to the office for consideration. It was to the point where Naru had given me a list of questions to ask so that any easily explained occurrences would be brushed away before he was forced to play nice with the people who came to them for help. I thought that it was better this way, but Mai seemed to be working under the impression that it was rude for some reason. I thought that it was saving us all from our boss's temper along with giving us more time to do our actual jobs.

Naru was quite the force to be reckoned with when someone or something was irritating him. I also didn't think that Lin would want to get summoned into the lobby area just to hear some nut job talk about something that their cat did. Though, I did get some numbers of hospitals and mental wards that I referred some of them to. Also a few of the other ghost hunting businesses around that I knew were phony. Let them deal with the crazy ones.

Of course some of the looks I got from those I pointed to the asylum were rather scary, but it wasn't my fault that they were crazy!

On to other matters, I had brought in a post for Hedwig almost right away, and she was almost a regular fixture in the office. Even with his concerns, Naru had warmed up to her. I think that they bonded over their arrogant attitudes and the knowledge that they were both very pretty to look at and that everyone should bow to their superiority. But that was only a guess. Lin didn't seem to mind her, but he also didn't seem to acknowledge anyone unless spoken to, and even then only when necessary. Hedwig's high intelligence seemed to help her transition, but it also got compared to Mai a few times, much to the girl's ire.

It was the week that Mai had off when the first new case came in. I was flipping through a few of the files that detailed the cases that Kazuya and Lin and done before coming over to the old school house and was making sure to mark where to look and what to ask so that I would know how they liked the transcripts when I was stopped by the bell above the door ringing.

"Hello, welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research, can I help you?" I asked politely when a well dressed man entered.

"Yes, I was hoping to speak with your boss about a sensitive topic that I need to have fixed." The man said quite rudely in my opinion.

"Of course, however, before we go to my boss it is my job to make sure that there is a case and not something that he wouldn't want to waste his time on. So if you could answer a few questions that is all I need." I answered as diplomatically as possible while trying to hold my own sneer inside of my mind and not on my face. I didn't like him at all, and while I was not going to be rude about it, I was not going to be overly nice either.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with," the man grumbled as he scowled at everything that he set eyes on. As if sensing my rising distress of talking with a person like him, Hedwig decided that my shoulder would be her perch while he was there. He looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but as soon as he looked as if he was going to say something about Hedwig I glared at him and he ground his teeth in silence.

"How long has whatever you have been experiencing going on?" I asked the first question.

"It's always been there, but now it keeps getting worse." He growled.

I sighed internally thinking that I just want to get this over with, "And how many people would you say have had experiences?" I asked.

"Almost everyone that I work with as well as a few visitors that come through. There are very few that don't notice." He said.

"Last question; are there any kids or small animals around?"

"No," he growled.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something I would regret in the end before I said "Then I will get my boss and his other assistant. Please wait here for a moment." I was done with the questions, also, one of the spirits seemed to think that something really was going on with this guy, so I decided that asking anything else would seem redundant.

The man scowled at me and seemed to want to say something else to me, but I didn't pay him any mind as I stood and walked over to Kazuya's door and knocked. When he said open I walked in and showed him the answers after telling him that we might have a new client. Though, I made sure that my reaction to the man was veiled so that he wouldn't know just how much that guy had gotten under my skin. It wouldn't do to be unprofessional about it; that would only end up with me losing my job.

"What do you think?" He asked me.

"I think that there might be a case, but the guy needs an attitude adjustment." I replied as neutrally as I could while using those words. It was quite a feat that I didn't growl at all!

"I'll be right there. Get Lin out there as well." He spoke after a moment. I nodded and left to snag Lin before walking back out and trying to hide my sneer at seeing him look all self-importance. Lin had seen Hedwig and seemed to have known that I was not in the best of moods. He was good at seeing things like that, not that he would ever say anything about it. So he came out as quietly as possible and without saying anything brought out his laptop.

I went and sat down with the rest of them as I thought over just how I was going to deal with this guy if we had to take the case. The man was a lot like the people that I had left behind, and I had left them for a reason.

"So what can you tell me about this haunting?" Kazuya asked once the tree of us where there.

"We used to think nothing of it. Every once in a while a paper would drop or a door would open. It was not interrupting anything, so we didn't do anything about it. But around a month ago things started to change. All that we were doing was painting one of the offices when the ladder was pulled from underneath the man. He insisted that something had tried to kill him, but at the time we just marked it off. A few days later things got worse. Phones would ring, lights would flicker, and a voice can be heard, but we don't know what it is saying. It's gotten to the point where I am worried about my employee's safety." He spoke up in his intimidating tone. But he was talking, and appeared to be truly concerned about his people. Though, I could see that he was unsettled at the age of my boss.

It went back and fourth after that. I learned that the place was an office building that had been doing fine for itself, there were about ten other employees on the floor that worked for him and had been having strange things happening to them. And I knew that Naru had already decided to take the case. It was written on his face.

When the man finally left, Kazuya turned to me and asked "Are you able to exorcise a spirit?"

"Not one that is this tame. The only time that I can is if they are upsetting the balance in a way. But usually when that is the case you get deaths, not doors opening and closing. I can't ask the spirits to aid me unless it is like that. It would be like someone calling the cops for a small everyday schoolyard fight verses calling the cops for a murder if you know what I mean." I answered with a sheepish shrug.

He nodded before saying "Then call up Father Brown and see if he wants to consult for us on this case. I'm sure that it won't take that long, but an exorcism might be needed."

I gave a nod before taking the office phone and calling the number that the Australian priest that I hadn't actually met had given to my boss.

"Hello, this is John, how might I help you?" Answered the man who seemed to be speaking in a dialect of Japanese that sounded rather formal and comical.

"Yes hello Father Brown, My name is Harry Potter and I work for Kazuya Shibuya at Shibuya Psychic Research, and we were wondering if you would be interested in consulting with us on a job that might need an exorcism." I said with as much politeness as I could.

There was a slight pause then. I was almost cursing myself for using my name, but at the same time I didn't think that anyone would know it, so I should be safe. I hoped. "Alright, I think I can do that. When does Kazuya want me over?" The teen at the other end asked.

"Nine tomorrow morning would be wonderful. We plan on going tomorrow, and Kazuya doesn't seem to think that it will take too long." I said before we both said our goodbyes and hung up.

"He will be here tomorrow." I said out loud, already knowing that he had probably been listening the entire time.

The next day I met with John and we got on just great. He was very mild mannered and polite, and he also knew things about both worlds that I had been in. As it turns out Lavender, who was a Gryffindor girl in my year was his cousin, and he was also in on the whole secret seeing as he was a squib of the Brown family. That did explain how he had so much power in his beliefs and was able to become an exorcist at such a young age. It was to the point that he knew exactly what and who I was, and he had questions for me that he planned on asking when we were alone. I could tell that he knew not to mention such things in front of Lin and Kazuya, and that was enough for me.

That talk came a while latter as John and I were at the base while Kazuya and Lin were out to get the records from the local library or something to that effect.

Switching to English so that we were not over heard by the workers, John asked "I know that you probably don't want to talk about it Harry, but can you tell me what happened between you and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? I just want to know if my family is safe after Professor Dumbledore had announced he was back last year."

I sighed. "First off, that is way too long and takes up to much time with too many hyphens. His real name was Tom Riddle. He was a half blood descendant of Salazar Slytherin who grew up in an orphanage. He was afraid of death and obsessed with the founders from what I could tell. He split his soul seven times to ensure that he wouldn't die. That was how he came back. The night he tried to kill me, my mother sacrificed herself to create blood wards that ensured that he couldn't hill me. That protection obliterated his body, but his soul was already fractured to the point where that did not kill it." I started.

"That is some very dark stuff," John commented looking rather pale.

"Yes. Now, the summer before my second year I found a book. It was a book on the Olde Ways. I wasn't going to read it, but my owl, Hedwig dropped it in my lap. I connected with the spirits, and they told me what I needed to do. People think that the Olde Ways are dark, but they aren't. It's all about the balance of the two worlds. The night before my trial for underage magic, a farce if you ask me, I found a piece if his soul and invoked the spirits. They judged and took his soul, all of it, and so now he is gone. This time he will not be going back. After that I left. Magical Brittan is backwards and just stupid at this point. They should sort out their own problems. I just wanted a normal life." I finished with a shrug. I knew that I was a child. To have the lives of everyone strapped to my shoulders at such an age was wrong, and we all knew it.

John nodded and he and a small smile on his face as if he understood just what I was saying. Then he said "I know that not many will say this to you, but thank you. You took a great evil from the world and made sure that it wouldn't return. But, I am curious, are you still able to use magic? I know that you left your wand in the hands of the ministry according to what the papers say."

"Ah, yes. I had already made my own focus before that. It is one of the rights of passage when one turns fifteen in the Olde Ways." I said happily changing topics and sowing him the focus that was on my wrist.

Fascinated, John held up my wrist and examined it. "I recognize the elven star, mokeskin, and the stones, but could I inquire as to the other things?" He asked with true interest.

"Dumbledore's phoenix gave me tears and a tail feather, Hedwig gave me a feather from her wing, I took the venom from the basilisk corps in the Chamber of Secrets along with a scale from her eyelid, and then right before I went on the train to leave after my fourth year a unicorn came up to me and gave me two strands of hair from her mane." I answered happily.

"That is a lot of power right there. But if it works for you I guess that is all that matters." John said after he got over his surprise, and then the two of us went back to looking at the screens in front of us. We were there for work after all, and the other two we worked with were just about back as well. It wouldn't be good to get caught talking of things that we shouldn't have been.

There really wasn't much that happened after that. The case was a dozy, and after a few random spikes of something, Kazuya was unimpressed and had John exorcise the spirit the very next day. It was gone in a matter of minutes. It was all rather dull and unimpressive, but at least I got a confidant in all things magical if I needed it. And I knew that he was someone of good standing just because of whom and what he was. I knew that I could trust John with anything.

It was also nice that he was open minded in my use of the Olde Ways and would not turn me in to the Ministry and claim that I was the next evil dark lord. That was all I needed at this point. I could practice, and no one would really care. It was fantastic.

It was back to the office for me, of course only after school and all. But once there I noticed a pattern. It was only when Mai was there, but Naru seemed to order tea on the hour. When it was just us men he wouldn't, but when it was Mai, he suddenly was asking for it left and right.

After a week of seeing the pattern I walked into Lin's office and asked "So, when do you think that he will realize that he likes her and is doing the equivalent of pulling pigtails on the playground, or is he doing this to try and prove to himself that he doesn't like her?"

"Never if his stubborn streak continues," The tall man answered with an amused lit to his voice. Though, it did seem that he was surprised that I had noticed it as well. But how I was supposed to work in this office and not notice it was beyond me.

"You know, if there was popcorn or the equivalent in the spirit world, the one nagging and cooing about the two would be snaking on it right about now." I muttered as I picked up the next file that Lin thought I should go through.

"Do you have names for them?" Lin asked.

"No, it is rude to ask their names; also their names have power over them. I would never ask them to give me that." I answered with a shake of my head.

"You misinterpret me; I asked if you had names for them, not if they had names. If they don't mind, you could call them anything." Lin said, still slightly amused to my ears.

I nodded my head then. "Oh, I get it. Well, if I was going to be naming them, then the one that is usually with me I would probably call Lapis seeing as the stone I use to invoke her with is Lapis Lazuli." I mused. And I got a funny look from both the spirit and Lin.

"You use stones to bring them forth?" He asked.

"Yeah, I mean, in all technicality I don't need to, but it individualizes them and helps to enhance their own powers in a way. It also lets me see them as all being different and still connected. Everyone's Way is different." I added.

Lin nodded then before looking back to his lap top and saying softly "Well, even if I hope we never have to, I will be looking forward to seeing just what you can do when something falls into your territory."

With one last smirk shared between us as Naru called for more tea, I left his office to read the files and get acquainted with the information collecting ways of this job. That was why this place was here after all. This was a research firm and not a place to get rid of spirits. All that Kazuya was responsible for doing was telling what type of spirit was there, how and why. It was only as a testament of how much he cared that he got rid of the problem after being there for a while and finding out just what was happening. That was also why none of us in the office had the ability to get rid of the low level spirits.

I just hoped that we would be getting a new job soon, one that was interesting, but not so interesting as to be a danger. I think that we all were hoping for something, but I also got the impression that Naru was looking for something; something that was not a ghost, but at the same time was not something that he thought was living.

I would have asked about it if I was someone like Mai, but I knew better than to question my boss and his first assistant. They would tell me if it affected my job and no earlier. In return I would respect their silence and privacy as they had respected mine.

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 **A/N: And there you have it. Please let me know what you thought. Constructive criticism is also appreciated. Though I should probably mention that this is self edited, so I have no Beta. All the mistakes you can find are simply my own. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Doll House

**A/N: And here is the next chapter. Sorry if it took a while. I hope that you all like this chapter, it took forever for some unknown reason. But I would also like to say that though he is working with Mai and has almost the same job as she does, I just want to make it clear that he will not be replacing her at all. I want to admit now that some of the dialogue came from the Anime. That said, I have made a few changes that I hope you don't mind. I also might not detail events a ton, but that shouldn't detract from the story. Oh, and a few things might be miss spelled. Like a new name or something. IF so you can tell me and I might change it. I hope that you all like this chapter and please let me know what you thought of it!**

 **I own nothing!**

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Doll House

July

It was a couple of weeks before my birthday when we got our next case. I had to stay back with Lin as Naru took Mai to scope out where it had been three days after the new client had first come to us with the case, and I could tell that she was afraid. What made it worse in my opinion was that there was a child involved with this case as well.

It was just SPR with Monk and Ayako that could come right away. Masako from what I understand was out at a shoot for her show while John had some things to take care of in the Church that he had been staying with. It was nice to know that we weren't working alone, and it seemed to be the case that we needed at this point in time. One more day of listening to nothing but Naru yell at Mai for tea, and I was going to explode! And I think that Lin was right there with me in that regard. It might have been funny before, but now it was just head bashingly annoying.

I didn't like the house. Amber and Lapis both warned me of the depths of sorrow and anger that were inside of the walls before they left. It was strange for Lapis to leave, but it seemed as if she sent Malachite in her place. I noticed that he seemed to be the most stoic of the spirits that helped me. I did tell him that he needn't stay if he didn't want to. He didn't respond at all to that. I had a feeling that they were a guard of sorts. But I suppose that if I wanted to know why they hung around I would have to ask them at some point without any mixing of words.

Set up of base was interesting. Lin and Naru both were finalizing the feeds from the video and audio when Mai started to wonder aloud about what it might have been. Of course she had started with something that she had seen before and started to talk about poltergeists. It was a good theory, but I already knew that it was a dud. Ayako and Monk both gave their favorite type of haunting into the mix as well.

"Why don't you wait until something actually happens before you all guess at what it is?" I suggested without actually looking at them.

"And what do you think is here?" Kazuya asked me after I spoke up. He wasn't looking at me, but from the slight tilt of his head I could tell that he was interested in what I was going to be saying. It was nice to know that I would be listened to here.

"Well, both Amber and Lapis dislike it here. They said that the very walls have absorbed the sorrow and anger of the spirits here. But they would say no more. There is something, but nothing in my domain." I answered dutifully with a tone that was slight more somber than I meant it to be.

With a nod Naru began to set up the control test, ignoring the looks that they two non SPR workers shot us. He, with Mai in the room, set up the hypnotic suggestion with a small vase in the living room to make sure that it was not a man made haunting. I wanted to laugh at just how excitable Mai was being about this. It was her first fully paid case as a voluntary worker of SPR. That had to count for something.

It was a nice and quiet day so far... until the stepmother came running in and caused us all to rush up stairs and into the room that belonged to Ayami. When we got up there the entire room had shifted to the point where all of the furniture was on an angle and the carpet with the bed still on it was also angled in a way that it shouldn't have been.

"I thought you people were supposed to be stopping thing like this from happening!" The mother yelled.

"Are you sure the little girl didn't do this?" Ayako asked, and I had been thinking about it for a moment. Times of great stress could force a bout of accidental magic to do something like this. But I wasn't convinced.

Mai, however, took offence to it and started to yell out how Ayami wasn't that strong. And as she did so I put on my disarming smile and knelt in front of Ayami. "Are you alright?" I asked her, knowing that no one else had done that so far.

She looked up at me with her larger than normal eyes and nodded, but I still leaned forward and gave her a hug that she reciprocated a moment later. As I was there I let my magic test her and found that it couldn't have been her. She didn't have a magic core and the vase would have been the thing that moved if she had some form of PK. However, I did feel something in the doll. It was reacting to the hug just like the little girl was, only with my magic sensing things; I could feel the longing and sadness that came from the soul that was in the doll.

There was another scream that came, and the others all rushed out of the room to see what had happened. I didn't though. I knew that I would be told what happened later. Right then I just wanted to make sure that the little girl was alright. Plus, I was very much affected by the longing that I felt from the spirit. It was the same thing that I had felt when I was a young child trapped in that cupboard under the stairs.

"It will be alright." I murmured to the both of them, "Soon you will be free."

I knew that both girls heard me, and Ayami seemed to be comforted by my words, but the other one seemed if anything, even more lost than she already was. It was as if she wanted to believe me, but that promise had been made before and had been broken. Then again I had been given that same promise when I went to Hogwarts for the first time, and although it seemed true, I was the one that had to free myself.

When I finally came down with Ayami sleeping in my arms, Naru declared her bedroom and the living room off limits. So I put the little girl down her aunt's room and then went over to Naru.

"I don't think it will do anything at the moment, but the doll is being possessed by the spirit of a little girl. She is angry, but most of all she has a deep longing that seems to resonate deep inside of me. I don't know what it is for, but it is there." I reported without actually looking up at the person I was speaking to. It had hurt to feel that emotion. And I was reminding me of the days that I would rather keep locked away in a place I wouldn't find it.

I would have said something else, but I really did not want to relive that part of my life or share it with these people at this time. Maybe if they let me know them better I would share, but not now. As I was thinking about that, I almost missed the flapping of wings until right before a familiar weight settled on my shoulder. I absently lifted my hand to stroke her feathers. I had almost forgotten that she had been my one light in that darkness.

"What's with the bird and where did it come from?" Monk asked most eloquently.

Rolling my eyes I turned to him and said "She is mine, and she doesn't like to stay away when I'm particularly emotional. So she came here. Have a problem with that?"

"No, I just thought that it was weird that she came out of nowhere. That's all." Monk said defensively with his hands up.

I gave a nod and then went back to face the others. Naru was looking at Hedwig as if she was some kind of experiment, and then I remembered that she had never seen this house before. So I spoke up "She can find anyone anywhere." He seemed to narrow his eyes before nodding his head and looking back to the monitors for the moment.

The next morning it was clear that there was an actual spirit in the house seeing as the control experiment was a bust. I thought that it had been clear from the moment that the two rooms had been messed with, but that could have just been me. Ayako decided that she was going to go ahead and cleanse the area, but I couldn't help but wonder why she would do that. I knew that she knew that she really wouldn't be doing anything seeing as this still wasn't the right kind of place for her to be working at.

But, to each their own.

The day was too normal for a ghost hunter. Nothing was going on, and there was no noticeable activity. But I knew the difference. I just wasn't sure what was going to be happening. I was with Lin while Mai was taking temperatures when I decided to asked him about my thoughts on Ayako.

"Hey, Lin, why does Ayako do the cleansing when she knows that her powers and faith won't work in an environment like this? I also don't get why she would think that it would work when she should know that the conditions here are terrible for it to work on anything more than an after image." I asked.

Lin seemed to think for a moment before saying "I think that her confidence comes from making the people believe that their house is not haunted any more. Most shrines are contacted to go to houses that are not actually haunted, and the show helps to keep them satisfied. I think that she is so used to doing that, that she has unconsciously made that into her normal facade."

"Ah, that makes sense." I mumbled before going back to work. But that was also when we heard a scream and a parade of paranormal investigators rushed to the kitchen where the oven was lit and there was a fire going.

And of course Kana was just standing there watching it happen instead of getting something to put the flames out. It ended up being Takigawa who came in with the fire extinguisher and saved the day. And once that was done Mai saw something coming from outside. She said it was a child, and so of course they all went running to Ayami's room.

Of course the little one didn't react well to that. But when she said her name in the third person, I knew that it wasn't just her that was protesting her innocence. The knocking sounds didn't help with it either. Clearly something was angry with them upsetting the little girl.

Then when the shelf was about to get dropped on Noriko I rushed in and grabbed at the top of it. The decent was stopped, but the stuff on the shelves still fell down. I was happy to go to sleep that night. It all was just getting a bit too much for me. And really, they needed to think before accusing the poor girl of doing something. I was questioning whether or not Ayako had working brain functions at that moment. I would have said so, but I heard from Monk that her hits actually hurt quite a lot.

The next day we were going through the data and talking about the case when Naru said "I believe that Ayami is behind this."

"I thought the suggestion experiment that you conducted proved the culprit wasn't human. How much confidence do you put in that test of yours?" Monk responded.

"One hundred percent" Was the answer given.

"Is it possible that the suggestion failed?"

"There's no way."

Before they could keep going I spoke up "Well I think that it is a spirit of a child that didn't like it when you accused Ayami of doing something. Didn't you hear what she said? Ayami didn't do it. She didn't say I didn't do it, she said Ayami didn't do it. So I think it is a spirit that is fixated on the little girl."

Before we could get into my theory, Lin called us over as the temperature in Ayami's room started to drop once again. More knocking sounds issued from the room, and there was nothing in there. The temperature was going down too fast as well. It proved that it wasn't Ayami, but other than that no one was a hundred percent sure what was causing it. But I knew what I felt.

I was on monitor duty with Lin after that as Mai spent time with Ayami and Noriko. It was strange that after Mai's allotted time for sleeping, she came up and told us what Ayami had said Minnie told her. It was the doll that I knew to be on and off possessed. I didn't think it was evil, but I knew that something was up with it and was happy that Mai and Noriko kidnapped her from Ayami and ran the experiment.

I wasn't up when they watched the experiment though. Ayako and I were taking our sleeping time as the others had things under control. Instead I was pulled into a very strange dream by the seven spirits.

"Little Raven," Lapis called in a voice that was taunting but at the same time disturbingly maternal sounding.

"Yes?" I answered slowly, not liking the tone that she used.

"Blue had someone that he wants you to meet!" She announced.

I nodded and then turned to where I saw the spirit that I associated with the Blue Lace Agate. Next to him was a teenager that looked exactly like Kazuya. It was baffling.

"So, I would accuse you of being a doppelganger, but then you would look like me instead of like my boss. So I am going to put my money on long lost twin. You do look rather lost as it is." I said with an attempt at humor when the silence had gone on for too long.

He did smile though, the look completely breathtaking and so not Naru like at all! And what was worse was that it took my breath away. I didn't realize just how adorable Naru could look if he just smiled! No wonder Mai had the hots for him. And now I am going to burry myself in something so that I never have to suffer through the consequences of thinking that thought and letting him find out that I thought that thought.

"My name is Gene, and I am actually Naru's twin brother." He admitted.

I nodded at him now with serious eyes. "And, if I may ask, what are you doing talking to me?" I asked him while tilting my head to the side.

"I thought that I was dead, but then one of these spirits came to me and told me that I was between life and death. The only problem is that I don't understand what they are talking about." He admitted.

My breath caught again when I thought of the implications. I could almost guarantee that Naru thought that his younger brother was dead, and that was the reason he was in Japan. But, I would have to learn more before I could say exactly what this whole thing was. I needed to make sure that everything was real before I went to my boss. If anything, he would kill me if I said something that I thought was right but that turned out to be wrong.

So I reached out and asked "May I see your hand?" He nodded his head while looking at me skeptically, but I ignored it as I pulsed my magic through him just as I had with Ayami the other night. Only this time I was looking for where his soul tied to. And I could feel it. It was not tied to the spiritual realm, but he was still in the realm of the living.

"You're stuck outside of your body, but I think that it is still alive. You might be in a hospital somewhere." I said to him.

"That's strange. I've never been able to astroproject. Not like Mai can at any rate." He said clearly confused about something scientific. Maybe he needed a little of my logic.

"Well you are trapped out of your body until something grounds you. I get the feeling that something happens to be your brother. Also, Lapis here tells me that you have been acting as spirit guide to Mai with her developing powers. I know that all you want to do is help, but you need to realize that with you there she won't be willing to tell your brother the dream because she had a crush on him and doesn't want him to know that she is dreaming about him. So I think that you need to let her real spirit guide take over." I ranted at him.

"I know, I just thought that she was the closest thing that I could get to in order to stay close to Noll. It was someone to talk to." Gene said with a crestfallen look as the ground of my mindscape seemed to be interesting to him all of a sudden.

I smiled as I finally realized that I still had his hand in mine and dropped it before placing my hand on his shoulder. "Look, I am here now, and I don't think that it will be too hard to speak with me if you want. The only thing that I ask is that I can tell your brother that you aren't dead. I will not push for any details, and I will leave your secrets be. Just let me tell him that." I spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

The twin of my boss looked up and into my eyes before he nodded his head in acquiescence and muttered "Alright, but make sure that he doesn't look for me. I don't know how, but I know that he won't be finding me that way. When the time is right, I will be found. Please tell him that."

"I will." I smiled at him and he answered with a smile of his own. I would have said something more, but I was woken up by the others. Now I had to figure out when to tell my boss about his twin. That was sure going to be fun.

Mai overheard Minnie talking with Ayami the next day, and I would be lying if I said that it didn't make me nervous. That night it was Monk who decided to take a shot at exercising the spirit from the doll while in the little girl's room.

It seemed to be going well. Ayako stayed with Ayami, and monk worked on the doll. Everything was fine. Until there was a scream coming from the hall way and we all rushed out to see Noriko on the ground. On further investigation it was found that her ankle had been dislocated and the bruising indicated that it was the hand of a child that had grabbed her.

For some other reason, Monk didn't pick up where he left off on the exorcism after that and I got placed in base with the doll as Mai and Naru questioned Ayami about Minnie and the other friends that were in the house.

So I was at base, with Lin, having a starting contest with a doll that had the exact same eye color as me. I was pretty freaked out.

"Hey, Lin?" I called out without breaking eye contact with the doll.

"Yes," he drawled.

"My birthday is the last day of the month, and I might have a friend over. I was just warning you because she might come into the office and I know that you and Kazuya have secrets, but she has a touch of the sight and can be brutally honest. If she is getting too close to something, just ask her what a nargle is and she will understand that it isn't something that you want to talk about." I said, still looking into those green eyes that were so like mine.

Then it hit me all of a sudden. I had been in Japan for just over a year now. But those thoughts went away rather quickly as Lin said "Thank you for the warning. I will be sure to mention it to Kazuya." I just nodded again.

It was a while after that when the writing on the wall was found. While Mai was sent out to stay with Ayami, Monk was burning the doll, and Lin and Kazuya were keeping an eye on the cameras at the base, I was stuck with Ayako scrubbing the words off the wall so that the little girl didn't have to see it.

"I don't see why I have to do this!" She complained to thin air. I knew that the shrine maiden wasn't exactly talking to me, but I was going to answer her anyway.

"Everyone else has a different job to do. Be happy that you aren't doing this alone." I said neutrally. No point in angering the woman.

She just huffed at me as we continued to scrub the wall and rid it of the writing that was made with crayon. I hate washing off crayon. It gets everywhere and stains. Whoever thought that they would be good utensils for kids to play with were crazy. Washing it off was almost impossible. But that was the job we had to do. To be completely honest I was casting very, very low level Scrugifies at the wall. I still needed it some of the time, and it wasn't as if they were going to notice it anyway.

Of course, when we all happened to gather back together, Minnie was still unharmed, and Mai was completely soaked through because of her dip in the pond to save Ayami. It looked as if all that we managed to do was rile the spirits up. Kana had already left, and so Noriko thought that it would be best if she and Ayami left as well.

I couldn't blame her for thinking that, but I also knew that there were a few things that might follow them if they left without separating themselves from the spirits in the house. The fact that children usually died in the house only made it more worrying. Ayami seemed to be right in age seemed to only add to that worry.

Back at base, Monk was convinced that it had to do with the doll and nothing that Naru seemed to say would reach him. And when he said that he just didn't buy it, I decided that logic was the answer to that problem.

"Monk, remember what the research said? People died in the house before Ayami came, and the doll came in with her. It is like Naru said; the spirit is only using the doll because it is close to Ayami. It couldn't be the cause because the haunting was here before it." I said, and Monk just sighed and didn't offer anything else. I knew that he was frustrated with this case already. We all sort of were.

That was why I was glad that Masako and John would be coming in.

Masako was ill upon entry, and I knew that whatever unnerved Amber and Lapis had seemed to affect her just as much. I didn't envy Kazuya when the girl practically threw herself into his arms before she fainted. When everyone started to scramble after that, I just sighed and continued to watch the monitors. I did sympathize with her situation, but there was something about her that reminded me of a Malfoy so much that I knew that I just didn't like her.

That night John gave a prayer for the little girl before asking to see the doll. But that was where things got complicated. The doll was gone. There was no trace of where she could have disappeared to. And of course that caused Monk to think that he had been right and that it really was the doll that was doing thing to the house.

After that we all stood in the base for hours just looking at the monitors waiting for something to happen. Seeing as Mai and Lin were on the controls and that everyone was watching the screens in front of them, I turned and was watching the clock.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Went the clock. It was exactly when the clock struck two when the activity started. The microphones picked up and we heard the screams of the children. And then there was silence just before Ayako came rushing in proclaiming to have found Minnie.

The next morning was day six, and it was time to do something. So Naru had taken the doll and had asked John to do an exorcism on her just to be safe. I knew why they were doing it, but for some reason it just didn't seem right to me. I think it had to do with the longing that I had felt from the one in the doll. It was for that reason I had opted to sleep instead of watch them get rid of her.

I had gotten up just in time for us to safely get the little girl and her aunt out of the house. I didn't know about the others, but I was glad that Masako said that the spirits didn't notice at first. It meant that they were safe for the time being.

Monk decided to try his hand at another exorcism, and I stayed with the others at the base as he did so listening to his chant. To be honest I found the chant to be slightly relaxing when mixed with his deep voice. It was soothing even.

Or at least, that was what I was thinking before the temperature drop and the activity started. I watched as the spirits seemed to come from nowhere and surround Monk and then later Mai when she ran to him, though to be honest I hadn't seen her go to him. Then through all of the screaming and knocking, a figure rose from the floor with glowing eyes.

"Tomiko. Tomiko." The figure chanted before it directed its attention on Mai and started to choke her. Of course Monk was still there and his warding got rid of the problem. But not before the floor in the living room broke to uncover a well that had been hidden beneath the floor boards. Talk about a safety hazard on that one. Someone could have been stepping on that at the wrong moment and fallen in if they weren't careful.

I was so caught up watching the screen that I all but jumped out of my skin when Malachite spoke up from beside me. Lin and Naru noticed that, as they also noticed when I turned to the spirit that I associated with the green rock and nodded at him before I followed the others to go look at the hole in the floor.

"There is a spirit of an Oshima here." Masako announced as she looked down into the well and covered the bottom half of her face with her sleeve. Why she did that I was still clueless. "She's lurking deep down inside the well, calling to the children's spirits pretending to be their mother. The children only want to return home. They're lost and can't find their way out." The medium explained. I was surprised that she could see so much and not notice the spirit that I had around me.

"Is Minnie there too?" Mai asked.

"Minnie, who is actually Yuchi Tatchubana, acts as ringleader to the children. But in reality, she is in so much pain and sadness that she just wants all of this to stop." Masako answered, her eyes never leaving the well as she did.

I felt as if I had to continue as I closed my eyes and sucked in a bit of air. "The woman is looking for her child. The one that she lost in life and now cannot find in death." I added, trying to keep my face blank of what I was feeling myself.

I was glad when Masako continued after I had stopped. "It appears to me that this well bores deep into the earth, and at the very bottom lie the spirits of the children, trapped in the dark." The medium said.

"Who is this Tomiko?" Naru asked the medium.

"It's Oshima's child. The one she is looking for. Tomiko is her daughter; that is why she is gathering the children." Masako said as she looked up for the first time and acknowledged what I had said. Though it didn't really bother me, I was too busy trying to forget the memories that I had of me trapped in the dark.

"Now we are getting somewhere." Naru said as he began to walk to the door.

"Naru?" Mai called out, not knowing what to do with him leaving the room.

"I need to take care of something. Harry, come too." He said without looking back. I quickly walked with him, stifling my laugh as he ignored Mai's protests along the way.

To my surprise he went to the local library and started to go through the old papers and histories of the house before it was renovated to over the well. Of course, that was a brilliant idea, I just didn't understand why he hadn't told the others where he was going. Maybe it was just to bother Mai; I could see that as an option. Or perhaps it was because he was just used to working alone.

"Harry, I know that one of your spirits told you about the Oshima, I was wondering if you could ask it when she died and any other information about her that it can tell you. For instance, a full name would be helpful." He half asked half ordered. I would have said something, but I supposed that it was a good idea, even if they weren't technically my spirits, only spirits that chose to work with me.

Giving him a nod, I turned to Malachite and tilted my head to the side. The spirit seemed to bob before disappearing. Now that he was gone, I decided that I would also look though the various papers that were out in front of us because of what Naru had pulled from the stacks.

It was hours later when he came back. "I found what your boss will need, but first you must know that the one called Mai is astroprojecting after falling into the well." I nodded at him before I asked about Gene with a simple raise of my eyebrow. "The one that is not dead let the other spirit guide do her job. He is speaking with Amber if I am not mistaken." I nodded again.

"News about Tomiko?" Naru asked. It didn't really surprise me that he had seen me nodding ad had guessed what I had been doing.

"Yeah, but also about the others. It appears that Mai somehow ended up in the well and is now astroprojecting." I said before going into the information that he had asked about. Though, the expression on his face told me that he was a bit worried about the girl, something that I found slightly amusing. I wasn't as worried seeing as I knew Malachite would have told me if she was in any real danger. Or at least I think that he would.

It was nice to know that the date of death was what he really needed seeing as it was missing from everything and Naru needed it for some reason. I did not question him. That really wasn't my place.

"I noticed that you were having problems in the house. I plan on finishing the job today. I want you to go back to the office and start to catalogue the data that we collected. The faster that is done the happier I will be. As it is, we really don't need an extra in the house. I will be calling back Father Brown and Ayako as it is. You will see what happened when we get back." Naru said as he contacted Lin to get started on a hitogata. It wasn't really for my benefit. I saw that it was somewhat of an order.

So I nodded my head and left. Tomorrow I decided was going to be the day that I told Naru about his brother, but for today I was going to start on paperwork and I was going to try and bury the memories that this place had dragged up and into my mind.

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 **A/N: So I decided to stop there. I don't know why I had Naru give Harry the rest of the day away from the house, but I just really didn't want to go into the whole sending of the ghost off. It would have opened too many emotional cans of worms that I am not ready to write into this story yet. So yeah! Please let me know what you all thought!**


	5. Visitors and Birthdays

**A/N: So, here is the next chapter. I recently had a few problems with my computer, so please bare with me for a bit. The fan broke, and I could literally cook on the bottom of my computer. It started to burn one of the tables that I work on. So, I had to get it fixed. Never knew installing a a was so difficult. And now I ave officially ranted enough.**

 **Moving on, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and continue to fav, follow, and review. I really do like to see if you guys liked what I wrote.**

 **I own absolutely nothing but my own imagination.**

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Visitors and Birthdays

It was two days after the case was done that I decided that I had waited long enough and made my way over to Naru's office. I knew that everything would work out somehow, but I really didn't know how my boss was going to react to this. I wanted to help him, but I knew that he wasn't going to accept my help willingly at first.

Talking a deep breath and thanking every deity out there that Hedwig was on my shoulder, I knocked on the door of the office in a quick staccato of three. When he made a noncommittal sound to enter, I swallowed and did just that. I was also sure to close the door behind me before closing the door.

That got Naru's attention, as he looked at me with an eyebrow raised. Damn, that look made me feel as if I was in trouble or something. With a sigh I answered "I have something that I found that is rather sensitive, and I don't know how to say it."

After a baited breath Kazuya closed the book in front of him and folded his hands before saying "If it is of a sensitive nature, then I would assume that saying it as quick as possible would be the best way to handle it. But I have been told many times by Mai that I am rather bad at speaking to someone about something sensitive."

I let out a short bark of surprised laughter at that. Though, even I admitted that it was true. "I would be able to show you a memory. It is a part of the Olde Ways, or some form of magic that comes from it. I only need you to make eye contact." I said nervously.

He seemed to think for a moment before nodding to himself and looking me in the eyes. I could see under the detached mask that he usually had on that there was a spark of curiosity that wanted him to know about the sharing of memories. To be honest it was only in the last part of the book that I had found out about this technique. It really was proof that the eyes are windows to the soul.

Concentrating on his deep blue eyes I felt my pupils widen before the memory of my first conversation with Gene came up. The only editing I did was to take out the reference to Mai so that he got that his brother was still alive and the message that he wanted to send, but nothing else. It helped that the other spirits only spoke the language of the Olde Ways, so he only had my translations to go off of. And when I was done I saw that Kazuya's cool was completely blown as he was breathing heavily and shaking slightly.

I stood after that, breathing slightly uneven myself before I said softly "This is your business. I will not tell the others, but you should listen to your brother's wishes. He only said those things out of love." Then I left, closing the door behind me.

I did wonder slightly how he had expected to keep such a large secret when all of us that worked for him were supernatural specialists. It would have had to have come out at some point or another.

For the rest of the day the office was as silent as a grave. Even Mai picked up on the tension and didn't say much. There were no calls for tea, and no arguing. The silence was only broken by the tapping of computer keys and the steady rhythm of breathing. I did feel bad about how I had broken it to him, but I hadn't a clue how else I was supposed to. After all, memories speak louder than anything else I could have said. I was just happy that I had done that now instead of month later when he would have been pissed at me about keeping this from him. I clearly had a good reason for not going to him right away considering the circumstances.

The only change was about five minutes before Mai and I were scheduled to check out Kazuya got out of his office and went into Lin's. I didn't say anything as it didn't really matter to me. He needed time, and I accepted it.

What I was worried about was the end of the month. My birthday was coming up in just over a week and I just knew that at least one person was going to make an appearance.

Thankfully everything got back to normal in the office in about four days. That was not to say that my boss got over what I told him. No, I highly doubt that was the case. It just meant that his masks were back on and that he was back to the Naru that everyone knew. He never did ask me about his brother though. Just knowing that there was a chance that he wasn't missing was probably enough of a gift to where he didn't want to speak about it and pop the new found bubble that he had found. I know that I wouldn't have.

It was the day before my birthday that my not so unexpected visitor finally came. Of course, as expected, she really did make quite the entrance as she walked into the office right in the middle of the work day.

"Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research, how can I help you today?" Mai asked after the door bell rang, announcing a new potential client.

A hum answered her question before an airy voice continued "The wracksprouts seem to like you quite a lot. Maybe that is why you don't seem to be here all the time." I had to swallow my snort as Mai did an excellent impression of a gold fish at that exact moment, clearly not understanding a word that she had heard.

"Miss. Lovegood, it is so good to see you again. Is there anything I could get you?" I interrupted with a smirk as I walked up to Luna and took her hand before bending at the waist to place a kiss on her knuckles. My smirk told the airy blond that I was messing with her, and the gleam that I saw pass through her silver blue eyes told me that she was about to play along with me.

"Mr. Potter, you should have been expecting me. Why is it that you had nothing ready for my arrival?" She emphasized her statement with a flip of her hair as she looked around, eyes following things that no one else could see and her lips slightly pursed.

I gave her my best innocent face before saying "But my dear, you did not RSVP with me before coming. If I were to have things ready I would have gotten them too early and then where would we be?" The tinkering laugh coming from the blond brought a smile to my face as I also tried my hardest not to laugh.

"Um, excuse me, but who is this?" Mai asked as she looked from Luna to me and back again.

"Oh, please forgive me for being rude. Mai, this is Luna Lovegood, a friend of mine from back in England, and Luna, this is Mai Tanyama, she is one of my coworkers and a friend from school." I answered politely.

Mai almost immediately dropped into a greeting bow and expressed her own greeting now that she had a name. Luna returned them with a dreamy expression on her face that I could see put Mai through a loop. Then again, it put everyone through a loop until they got used to the airy ways that Luna had.

"Tell me, Luna, have you found your Crumple Horned Snorkack yet?" I asked out of the blue, still playing while asking my friend about how she had been. After all, using her mannerisms and expressions, I could have a conversation with Luna in front of everyone and no one would know what the hell we were talking about.

Naru and Lin had drifted out at this point, taking an interest in what was disturbing the atmosphere in the office. Lin seemed to remember my warning to him and he was looking at Luna was a critical eye.

"I may have glimpsed one a few times." Luna admitted with a bright blush touching her cheeks.

"Ooh, details. Let me see if I can guess!" I said like as if I were a puppy as I tapped my chin with my pointer finger and looked deep in thought. "Ah, I've got it. I would say that it was in the Lion's Den but has a lot more in common with the Badgers. Also, would he happen to share the first letter of your last name with his own?" I asked with a gleam in my eyes.

Her smile turned dreamy again as she confirmed it with a sigh that accompanied it as well. Oh I had missed her dearly. Even if I had seen her on Christmas like she had said I would. Still, she was the biggest connection I had to the others besides the letters that they all sent.

"So, I know that you all wrote to me about the Umgubular Slashkilter, but you never told me how that ended. Tell me, I know the twins had something to do with it, what was it?" I asked with a mischievous smirk. I just knew that this was going to be a good story. the rants that I had received about that Umbrage woman was enough to make me hate her without ever meeting her.

"Yes, the twins did have one last go at her before they left. It was after their exams of course. I believe that they not only had the fireworks bite the Umgubular Slashkilter in the butt, but they also got to ruffle the feathers of the little dragon as well. It was quite funny. They opened their shop if you didn't already know. It is quite funny. But it wasn't Forge or Gred that got rid of her. No, it was Hermione." She said with her own version of a smirk. How one makes one of those look airy I have no idea, but she did.

"No way!" I gasped at that. "Miss. Goody-Two-Shoes, I love authority Hermione? She got rid of it?"

"Yes, spectacularly so." Luna nodded.

"Tell me everything!" I demanded.

"The Umgubular Slashkilter did not make friends with anyone. She even sacked Trelawney. Hermione had enough when she went after our giant friend and tricked her into the Forbidden Forest. The Star Gazers have her now, and I don't think that she will be back any time soon. They were most angry with her." Luna said while she was looking at something that was moving just over my shoulder. Though, I knew that it would be nothing that I could see.

"Hm, and did the Star Gazers have anything to say?" I asked. I would always ask this. Luna was always deeply in tune with nature and the future; she had told me that the centaurs liked to tell her things whenever she saw them. Their advice, though hard to understand, was invaluable when looked at the right way. I had even learned from the Olde Ways that they did not see the stars as we did, but as something that magic itself showed them.

She hummed for a moment before turned to Naru and saying in her eerily calm voice "Sometimes, to find what has been lost, you must first stop looking." For a moment her silver eyes got darker to a storm gray before they went back and she turned back to me. "Gemini is faded, but soon will be brighter. Pluto has been bright and will be for some time to come." That was what she had been told; I saw it in her eyes. I highly doubted that she even bothered to wonder at the words that she had said to my boss. She did it all the time with the Ravens at Hogwarts.

I gave a nod. "And how have the nargles been treating you recently?" I felt that the change of subject would get at least Mai's attention off of what Luna had said to Naru.

"They have been the same. They still manage to hide my shoes every few weeks, but that is usual." She answered and I had to stop myself from growling. "But I see that you have been bothered yourself. Are the Heliopaths that bad over here?"

"No, they really aren't. Besides, how could they be Heliopaths when I thought that only Fudge had them? No, I think that you need a different name for them." I answered with a laugh. I had read many a rant that she had shared talking about those creatures that I didn't need any clarification on what they were.

"Oh fine. But I should say something more about the nargles. It looks as if Ronald and Lavender are going to get together next year. I can already see it." Luna said as I started to choke on air as I pictured that.

As I choked, Luna took the time to look at my work associates. She zeroed in on Lin first and her eyes turned stormy again as she said "I know of you, Koujo Lin. Be wary of your temper. Though you have forged shields of iron, they too can only take so much before they shatter. Words can hurt more than actions. But, you already know that."

I could hear the warning in that, but as she turned to Naru; I knew that whatever she would say would not be good for the timing, so I cleared my through and asked "Luna, do you have any news on Lupin or Padfoot?"

"Ah, your wolf is doing quite well. I think that your dogfather is good as well. But you will just have to ask them when you get home. I did already let them in and everything." She said with a damn twinkle in her eyes.

"They are here? In Japan?" I asked socked, and at her nod I asked "And just how did you let them into my house?"

"You did give me the key, Harry dear." Luna said with her tinkering laugh and a voice that was so condescending that it felt like I was a child again, even if I was older than her by a year. .

I sighed before grumbling. I still had no idea how the hell she had gotten me to give her the key to my house almost before I had the deal finalized. All I do know is that Luna always has her ways. It is usually best not to fight them either. "If that is the case, you should go back and make sure Sirius doesn't blow the place up."

"I guess I could do that. But you should be careful of the Labyrinth that smells of blood. You also shouldn't be too wary of using the boon that you earned. Listen well to the warning it came with, but use it before things go out of control." She then skipped out of the office, my eyes narrowed at her back. I did not like the sound of that at all.

Lin was the first to break the silence as he asked "How serious should we take her warnings and advice?"

I thought about that for a moment. "Very serious, but it is alright to move on without dissecting it. They will come into play on their own, sometimes a year later if you are lucky. But I know that she is never wrong about anything, especially when her eyes and tone change like that." I answered while keeping my eyes trained on the door.

The rest of the day moved on, not that there was much of it left, and I was on my way home with some pep in my step as I did so. My smile was on full blast as I did too, causing Lapis to continually laugh at me, but I was ignoring her nicely. I was going to be seeing what was left of my family, and that alone had me beyond happy.

The moment I opened the door I saw them. Not only was there Remus, Sirius, and Luna, but Neville, the twins, and Hermione were there as well. If it were possible, my smile got ten times bigger. As it was, that was impossible so I settled for giving out hugs instead. It really had been too long since I had seen them all.

"How have you been Harry?" Sirius asked as he twirled me around in his hug as if I was a little kid (or a girl but I refused to think about it that way).

"Good. I work at a paranormal investigation place now, so that has been fun. I guess that I didn't really leave magic that far behind." I laughed as I was passed to the twins who sandwiched me as they cooed at me about how cute I was or something along those lines. I learned a long time ago not to take anything that the two said seriously.

* * *

Lin's POV:

Koujo Lin sat back at his computer and thought about the past few weeks. It all started that silent day when Noll had walked into the room with all of his masks blown to smithereens. The boy had then all but collapsed onto the extra chair that he had in his office and held his head in his hands.

"Noll, what is it?" The older of the two had asked as he got up and closer to the other one.

"He's not dead. Harry, he contacted Harry," The teen had answered disjointedly.

It took a good thirty minutes to get the full story out and into the open after that point, and both of them had been stuck silent when understanding dawned on them. What was worse was that they had been told to stop looking for Gene by Gene.

It wasn't as if they could just ignore that wish, and it wasn't like they were having any luck with the search anyway. It took most of the rest of the day for them both to come to the agreement that they would still keep their eyes open for the younger twin, but they would slowly start to stop actively looking. But as they came to that decision, both of them also knew that there was no way in hell that they were actually going to follow through with that.

And then the mysterious friend that Harry had told Lin about came, and she had said some things that had rattled all of their cages. At first it seemed as if she and Harry had been talking nonsense, but then as they continued, it seemed that they were changing topics onto things that were closer to hope. Put it was what she had said to both him and Noll that had caught his attention.

She had spoken of not looking in order to find what was lost as well as about stars that seemed to mean something to Harry. Then after that she had warned the young green eyed man of something else. A labyrinth that smelled of blood and a boon that he had gotten somewhere.

Lin was a very smart man; he had to be in order to do his job. He had known that this boon that Miss. Lovegood had talked about was something that made harry uncomfortable. But at the same time, he also knew not to ask no matter how much he had wanted to.

The warning that Harry had given him had said that she was a seer. Lin had never really had any good experiences with people who claimed to be seers, but when it came to Harry and what he said, well, the Chinese man was not about to discount that it was possible. He hadn't been wrong so far about the others, and his knowledge was fairly good. Also, the warnings she gave seemed to be genuine in a way. As if she had no idea what she was talking about, but knew that she had to say something.

That was one of the reasons why Lin had asked Harry how reliable her warnings were. And it did actually surprise him when Harry basically told him to keep her words in mind because they were always related to something.

Lin gave out a long suffering sigh as he turned back to his computer. He had been putting off this report to the Davis's for far too long. Now he not only had to write about what they had found out about Gene and a summary of their last case, but he also had to write about a supposed seer and the warnings that she gave along with a character assessment of Harry and if his faith in someone really did mean something.

This was going to be a long e-mail, and he was dreading the questions that were going to come flying back at him.

* * *

 **A/N: And there is the last of it. I honestly didn't know what the heck to write at the point after Harry got home, and I think that it is kind of obvious. But other than that I hope that you all liked this new chapter! Until next time!**


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